Brisbane's Bruder takes on the world

Designing and building big-ticket global luxury expedition campers and caravans in Australia and delivering them to demanding customers in the most remote corners of the world has been a special challenge for Brisbane’s Bosschieter brothers, Dan and Toby, which they have addressed with the same innovative tech employed in their range of Bruder trailers.

Before each trailer leaves their Moorooka, Brisbane factory, patches with QR codes are attached to every area that might require a detailed explanation. These can then be scanned by a mobile phone to open a video narrated in the purchaser's language giving a detailed run-down of the feature, its operation and its maintenance.

In some cases, one of the Bosschieter brothers will jump on a plane to make a personal handover.

“There are so many features that are exclusive to our trailers that sometimes this is necessary where a customer has a particularly demanding trip planned,” said Dan.

“People are often surprised that such a sophisticated expedition vehicle is made in Australia and our willingness to go to them supports their purchase decision.”

While a handful of companies build specialised camper trailers of this type, Dan Bosschieter is confident that none offer the combination of all-terrain ability, quality and comfort as his BruderXs.

“That’s what our customers from all parts of the world tell us, and they have done a lot of research into the options,” he said.

Since they began the business building the first tandem-axle Bruder EXP-6 hybrid campers in 2016, BruderXs are now to be found throughout North and South America, many parts of Africa and the Middle East and from far northern Europe to Asia. Yet perhaps surprisingly, the largest single market is Australia.

“A lot of Australians have not really explored their own country,” he said. “Many might already have a high-end 4WD, but even the best off-road caravans have their limits and they don’t want to buy or drive an expedition truck. To those people, a BruderX makes perfect sense.”

Starting from small beginnings, the business now manufactures trailers in two sites in Brisbane. Advanced manufacturing standards are employed in both and Bruder was one of the first industry participants to receive full industry manufacturing accreditation. 

Designed exclusively by the Bosschieter brothers, BruderX chassis and suspension systems are built from the ground up in ISO 9001-certified facilities in Richlands, Brisbane, with assembly and fit-out undertaken at the company’s commercial headquarters in nearby Carole Park.

Once completed, all BruderX campers are taken to Bruder's vast new Retail Experience and Service Centre at Brisbane’s Moorooka to await despatch to new owners or to be viewed by prospective customers.

With the three premises relatively close together, allowing easy monitoring of all phases of construction and sales, the business runs seamlessly, allowing its owners to keep on top of any issues and identify their origins.

Given BruderX’s low-volume exclusivity, it was a surprise to find the Carole Park commercial headquarters full of campers in various stages of completion, along with a clear visual system indicating any component shortages.

The factory takes full advantage of Brisbane’s daylight hours, with normal shifts commencing at 5am and finishing at 1pm, producing one finished trailer on average every two days.

Meeting local regulations for each country is one of the most time consuming tasks the Bosschieter brothers face, such as ensuring that the windows of North American-bound BruderXs are ‘bear proof’ and that the correct exterior lights are fitted to comply with requirements in different parts of the world.

Bruder is also obsessive about the quality of the raw materials that go into each trailer, giving them total control of quality.

“To maintain our reputation, we go to lengths beyond those of our rivals,” says Dan. “Our customers know and appreciate this. We haven’t yet broken a chassis or suspension component.”

To ensure this they have fail-safe systems, like bump stops inside the suspension’s air bags should a failure occur. Underscoring this facet, a customer drove his EXP-6 from west to east across the United States with all the air bags fully deflated and the trailer came out little the worse for wear!

Despite holding international patents on its suspension design, the assembly of its body structure, and the 600kg lifting capacity of its patented scissor mechanism that raises the optional pop-top roof on the EXP-6 camper to cope with snow loads, it was interesting to note that BruderX does not license its technology or undertake contract manufacture of components for other off-roads brands.  

But with the premium end of the expedition trailer market largely to themselves, why would they?

So, with a cashed-up and willing post-COVID world even hungrier to break down existing travel boundaries, is there a BruderX EXP-10 on the drawing board?

“Not just yet,” says Dan Bosschieter knowingly, “but I have a clear vision of it,” pointing to his head.

The direction is clear though, as the BruderX of the future will clearly be designed to integrate with the next generation of off-road EVs, perhaps even recharging them as they traverse the globe by harnessing the excess power the trailers are generating.

In the meantime, BruderX has worked on enhancing its current range, with an optional ‘Stealth’ specification now available on all models, effectively packaging many of the most popular options.

Adding around $15,000 to the price of an EXP-8, the blinged-up option pack including Stealth Black styling, contrasting gloss white cabinetry, black, colour-coded wheels and suspension, black leather upholstery with red stitching, a standard right-hand side 4.5 metre wide electric awning, an additional drop-down right-hand side table, two Rotopax fuel containers, a standard 240V microwave oven, a 12V solar inlet to take charge from a 300W portable solar blanket, a pair of body-mounted black MaxTrax wheel sleds, a standard 4500 pound rear recovery winch, a tyre inflation kit and an ATM upgrade from 3500kg to 4000kg, also further extends the Bruder’s capability and exclusivity in the most inhospitable places on earth.

“One thing is certain. Bruder will be exploring and extending the limits of ground-based exploration travel,” Dan says confidently.